Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Scotch Collops
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the veal
Cut veal into thin, round pieces about 3 inches wide.
Beat the veal with a rolling pin.
Grate a little nutmeg over the veal.
Dip the veal in the egg yolk.
Cook and serve
Fry the veal in butter until golden brown.
In a separate pan, mix gravy with butter and flour, then add egg yolk and cream.
Stir the sauce until it thickens, but do not boil.
Serve the sauce over the collops.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Nutmeg + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Nutmeg + creamtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,920 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Veal
- Forms the main body of the dish, cooking to a tender, browned meat.
- Flour
- Thickens the gravy into a smooth sauce as it cooks.
- Egg yolk
- Enriches and thickens the sauce, adding richness and body.
- Cream
- Adds richness and a silky texture to the sauce.
- Butter
- Browns the veal in the pan and adds richness to the sauce.
The step that matters
Stir the sauce until it thickens, but do not boil. Egg yolk in the sauce can curdle and turn grainy if it gets too hot. Heating gently and stirring keeps the sauce smooth and thick.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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